The Winter's Tale

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A.J. Magoon/Summit Players Theatre

Maura Atwood and Michael Nicholas (left to right) in the Summit Players production "The Winter's Tale."

Shakespeare by Summit Players Theatre, 7 pm, 7/23, Lake Kegonsa State Park, Stoughton; educational workshop at 5:30 pm.

press release: Wisconsin-based traveling theater company Summit Players Theatre is returning to live, outdoor performance after a year off due to COVID-19 and will be performing Shakespeare’s The Winter's Tale from June 12 to August 22 in 24 different Wisconsin State Parks. All performances will be free and preceded by a 45-minute educational workshop.

"We're excited to get back to presenting live theater and bringing people together across Wisconsin," stated Executive Director A.J. Magoon, a founding member of the organization. "The Winter's Tale is like Shakespeare's take on a fairy tale – there's love, there's loss, there's magic and music. The audience gets to help us reach that happily-ever-after ending, which is a perfect way to return this year."

Each The Winter's Tale show will be 75 minutes long and completely free, in accordance with the company’s mission of creating Shakespeare anyone can afford, attend, and understand. Through a collaboration with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Summit Players are also able to introduce audiences around the state to their local parks.

The group’s educational workshop, “Inside Shakespeare's Story: The Winter's Tale” is new this year and offered before every show. It serves as a way for kids and “fun adults” to get comfortable with the play, Shakespeare’s language and the way nature played into his works. Participants take part in Shakespeare games and exercises culminating in performing a short scene.

This year, the Summit Players team boasts three new members—Maura Atwood, Cole Conrad and Kaylene Howard. All three will act in The Winter's Tale as well as serving as teaching artists for the company.

"We're coming back with something totally new, which is perfect for people who love us or people who have never seen us," said Caroline Norton, Education Director and two-year alumna of the company's tours. "There are new things to learn in our workshop, new people to see in our show, new jokes, new lessons and new fun while still getting that classic Shakespeare in the State Parks experience.

Summit Players Theatre’s 2021 season is supported in part by grants from the Wisconsin Arts Board and Wisconsin Humanities Council, with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this project do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Wisconsin Humanities Council supports and creates programs that use history, culture, and discussion to strengthen community life for everyone in Wisconsin.